This week I am going to share with you how to streamline and organize your families weekly lunches.
Kids’ Lunches
First, do you have a kid friendly snack station in your kitchen or pantry?
Do you have a lunch packing station? 
Having everything you need in one spot saves SO much time!
Creating a lunch packing station will save you time and money.
Just like meal planning for your dinners, you can do the same thing with your kids’ lunch boxes.
Step 1 – Decide what constitutes a good lunch for your family.
In our family, each lunch has to have a main source of protein, a fruit, something crunchy and something sweet. Lunch packing is once again part of my morning routine.
In past years we packed juice boxes, but this year we are going to stick with water bottles.
On Saturday before hubby goes to the grocery store, hubby and I survey our lunch packing station and see what needs to be replenished.
My husband is lots of fun at the grocery store and often will find new special treats for lunches. In my podcast, I share how I’m not so much fun, but I get less arguing!
Step 2 – Buy a good lunch box.
Our children are in eighth and tenth grades, and over the years we have used lots and lots of lunchboxes.
The best lunchboxes have a thermal component to them and will keep food cold with an ice pack. Lunch boxes with more rigid sides will prevent food inside from being squished.
As my children got older, their lunch boxes needed to increase in size. Once you find a lunchbox you like, buy two or three of the same one. Children leave lunch boxes at school, so having a couple of backups is always handy.
Use your old lunch boxes to create homeless kits.
Don’t forget field trips!
You will also want to buy paper lunch bags. As my kids got older, I started using plain gift bags as their field trip lunch bags to hold larger water bottles and Lunchables.
You can buy a set of 2 handled bags at the dollar store for a dollar, or I just saw a package of 13 at Walmart for $6
Step 3 – Buy disposable containers and silverware.
I like shopping at Costco for the plastic utensils we use for silverware. They have the best prices and I have a drawer in my kitchen just for this plasticware.
Right below that drawer are our plastic reusable containers. Having organized many plasticware drawers, I find that the best solution is to stick to one brand and one style of reusable plastic containers.
Make sure that the containers that you’re buying fit inside the lunchboxes that the kids will be taking to school.
I also find that the Ziploc screw on lid containers work best for preventing spills.
Step 4 – Pack lunches at night.
Packing lunches in the evening is less stressful and more relaxing. Sometimes you may even decide to take leftovers from dinner for lunch the next day.
My son does not like all of his food cold, so I leave his lunchbox on the kitchen counter filled with everything except for his drink. It is easy to add a cold drink in the morning and send him on his way.
Our daughter often packs more perishable food items. Her lunch is always packed and placed in the refrigerator the night before.
When you have systems for packing your kids’ lunches, it is easier to train them to take over the task on their own.
What about Mom?
I have been working on a very streamlined & routine eating schedule in my personal life. Abby and Greg hate the idea of eating the same thing everyday.
For me it is a HUGE time saver, money saver and a few less decisions I have to make everyday.
Here are three ways to eat on the run without going through the drive through.
Confession: Meal planning and packing lunches have to be my worst skills. I expound upon that in today’s podcast!
Seriously, when I was working full-time as a teacher, hubby took over the lunch packing… and then the grocery shopping… and finally cooking dinner. When I started to work from home again, I didn’t take those jobs back.
It’s just NOT my gift. However, I have used that excuse too long. I need to be more proactive in my own lunch packing and help out with the family meals and snacks.
I also have completely stopped eating fast food. This is a RADICAL change for me! I used to eat 2-3 meals in the drive through!!
I got these cute walking shoes after I walked half a million steps last summer.
Last summer I lost 9 pounds in 3 months and I do NOT want to put that back on. I am out of good 150 – 200 calorie snack ideas, so please share those in the comments! I kept those pounds off and I am working on losing more!
#1 Make a list of 150- 200 calorie snack ideas and make sure you have the ingredients on hand.
I don’t mind eating the same foods over and over again, but the more I eliminate carbs and sugar out of my diet, the less I find to readily eat.
As I look around me, I realize many of you have already made the shift to healthier eating. {Again… I can’t wait to hear your snack ideas!}
Some of my favorites are:
1 slice of American cheese with 4 Triscuts, a Zone peanut butter protein bar or a handful of peanuts.
This weekend I added: Cucumbers and tomatoes with ranch dressing, strawberries, cottage cheese and yogurt.
#2 Have everything in ready to go containers.
I did pay extra and bought my cottage cheese in the smaller containers. I also spent this week prepackaging the other snacks so I could grab as many as I needed each morning.
In the mornings, I grab my 31 lunch box, add a bunch of water and 2-3 snacks with an ice pack. I like that my water can stand up right and the bag is big enough for a bunch of snacks.
This summer, I would always fill it with cold water and ice packs for the day. That way I had cold water to give the kids after camps and didn’t feel like I should go buy them cold drinks.
#3 Use a slow cooker.
The next step in organizing our family’s food involves overhauling our dinner hour. Here’s the problem: Abby and I are hungry at 4:30. Greg can’t have dinner ready until 6 at the earliest, and Joey prefers to eat around 7.
So I am going to be looking into a lot of slow cooker ideas.
I don’t know if I’ll be driving around while I cook, but it works for my friend! My friend has 6 kiddos and is in the car ALL day on Mondays. So she plugs in her crockpot in her van and cooks the dinner as she drives around all day! Brilliant!
She packs a cooler of milk and fruit to add to their meal on the go!
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The post 40 Weeks 1 Whole House: Week 3: Organize Your Weekly Lunches appeared first on Organize 365.